Amber Asaly is a twenty-something fashion photographer based in LA/NYC who I've been watching + admiring from afar for a few years now. I first came across Asaly on Instagram and was immediately struck by her vintage style of shots of babes at the beach. I totally wanted the clothes her models were wearing and maybe a taste of their lifestyle too. (Sidenote: Amber also has nearly 78k followers on Instagram). I thought to myself, "whatever it is that she's doing, it's working," and I've been taking notes ever since.
So a few weeks ago, after working up a lot of nerve and studying her work even closer, I decided to give her a shout to ask for a quick interview. I sent her a message via her most frequently used social media account/ the same way that I had initially discovered her-- Instagram. As a young female photographer myself, I felt that she would be a great outlet for me to ask a little about her process as well as some deeper questions about combatting sexism/ageism in the industry. I attached one of my own pictures with a very desperate/heartfelt message and crossed my fingers. I was pretty shocked when I heard back from Amber the same day with the response: "Email me ! !." After going back and forth with her a few times over email she told me to send the questions through.
Read on for some more about Amber + the full interview.
So a few weeks ago, after working up a lot of nerve and studying her work even closer, I decided to give her a shout to ask for a quick interview. I sent her a message via her most frequently used social media account/ the same way that I had initially discovered her-- Instagram. As a young female photographer myself, I felt that she would be a great outlet for me to ask a little about her process as well as some deeper questions about combatting sexism/ageism in the industry. I attached one of my own pictures with a very desperate/heartfelt message and crossed my fingers. I was pretty shocked when I heard back from Amber the same day with the response: "Email me ! !." After going back and forth with her a few times over email she told me to send the questions through.
Read on for some more about Amber + the full interview.
A little bit about Amber from her website:
lover of film ••• happy when hair is pink ••• sad when hair is blue
•los angeles •san francisco ...currently taking over new york
•published in• Paper, Teen Vogue, Galore, Monster Children, Super Nasty, Teeth, C-Heads, Cake, ASOS, We The Urban, Bl_nk, LifeWithoutAndy, Nous Zine, Virgin Gold Cult
•Clients• Lolliswim, Wildfox, Vans, Mylo Jewelry, Screaming MiMis, HUF, Benny Gold, 2121, Mgmt LF Stores, Nasty Gal, TUK, Kehlani, G-Eazy
Find her work here:
http://www.amberasaly.com/
https://www.instagram.com/amberasaly/?hl=en
lover of film ••• happy when hair is pink ••• sad when hair is blue
•los angeles •san francisco ...currently taking over new york
•published in• Paper, Teen Vogue, Galore, Monster Children, Super Nasty, Teeth, C-Heads, Cake, ASOS, We The Urban, Bl_nk, LifeWithoutAndy, Nous Zine, Virgin Gold Cult
•Clients• Lolliswim, Wildfox, Vans, Mylo Jewelry, Screaming MiMis, HUF, Benny Gold, 2121, Mgmt LF Stores, Nasty Gal, TUK, Kehlani, G-Eazy
Find her work here:
http://www.amberasaly.com/
https://www.instagram.com/amberasaly/?hl=en
A/S/L?
4ever 17. Female. The hood.
I wanna start by saying I am a mega fan. I got a little photo crush. But anyways, you started off so young, how do you feel that your style has morphed (if it has) over the last few years that your career has blossomed?
aw that's really sweet. thank you.
i don't know if i'd say my work changes with age. i think it more changes depending on the city I live in & my mood.
SF was chill vibes, natural pretty girls, soft, idk just overall a chill
LA was sexy, minimal clothing & palm trees
NY is like hard, tough vibes...but always still pretty to look @
When you were little did you dream of running around cali taking photos of hotties at the beach, or did it happen by chance?
I didn't dream of shooting hotties at the beach. I always dreamed of becoming a respected photographer.
It defffff didn't happen by chance. I hustled my life away...i still am !
Your subjects always appear so natural and genuine. When shooting, how do you typically direct them to move so that it still feels organic?
i def give all my subjects direction. Like I don't care if you've been modeling for 10 years... my work is easily set apart from other photographers work because of the direction I give my subjects.
oh my b i thought that said 'do you direct" not "how do you direct"
girl i aint finna tell my secrets ;)
I shoot mad cute girls too and sometimes I feel that other photographers (mostly old school thinkers) look at it as if I'm objectifying women and their bodies. I see it as an uplifting/empowering thing. Have you ever gotten similar feedback? If not, what would be your response?
honestly no i've never been told that. I don't see it as objectifying AT ALL...my response would be
"lmaoooo i don't care what u think :)"
How (if so) does being a young, female photographer play into your work?
To my advantage, being a young female makes me relatable towards who I'm shooting. Most my subjects, as you can easily see, are young females. If I were a model, I would without a fucking doubt feel more comfortable shooting with a girl my age rather than a creepy dude that's intentions are questionable.
Do you face sexism / ageism / misogyny bullshit in ur career or life?
*Advice for yung women going through similar bs?
maybe I do? I don't really know because I don't give a shit. Like i'm so sorry there are salty people out there hating on young female artists...that's really weird to me.
if i get h8 mail or idk just haters sliding into my DM i don't pay it ANYYYYY mind.
that's the only advice i can give you, try not to care. that'll hold you back so much. just do whatever the fuck you want to do.
You're obvi a social media queen. What's your stance on social media / / how has it boosted your career and influenced your style?
i don't know. one day i hate social media, then the next day I'll love it.
i hate that
1) people think they know someone because they follow them on insta/snapchat/tumblr
2) it creates some type of DUMB status ego...
mad clients go to my instagram and either automatically fuck with me or serrrrriously don't.
but its like don't fucking judge me off my instagram like go to my website b, go fuck with my WORK not my instagram !!
but then it's cool because it's connected me with people I would have nevvvvver been connected with and it's brought me mad opportunities.
@ then end of the day tho, i hate it more than i love it.
4ever 17. Female. The hood.
I wanna start by saying I am a mega fan. I got a little photo crush. But anyways, you started off so young, how do you feel that your style has morphed (if it has) over the last few years that your career has blossomed?
aw that's really sweet. thank you.
i don't know if i'd say my work changes with age. i think it more changes depending on the city I live in & my mood.
SF was chill vibes, natural pretty girls, soft, idk just overall a chill
LA was sexy, minimal clothing & palm trees
NY is like hard, tough vibes...but always still pretty to look @
When you were little did you dream of running around cali taking photos of hotties at the beach, or did it happen by chance?
I didn't dream of shooting hotties at the beach. I always dreamed of becoming a respected photographer.
It defffff didn't happen by chance. I hustled my life away...i still am !
Your subjects always appear so natural and genuine. When shooting, how do you typically direct them to move so that it still feels organic?
i def give all my subjects direction. Like I don't care if you've been modeling for 10 years... my work is easily set apart from other photographers work because of the direction I give my subjects.
oh my b i thought that said 'do you direct" not "how do you direct"
girl i aint finna tell my secrets ;)
I shoot mad cute girls too and sometimes I feel that other photographers (mostly old school thinkers) look at it as if I'm objectifying women and their bodies. I see it as an uplifting/empowering thing. Have you ever gotten similar feedback? If not, what would be your response?
honestly no i've never been told that. I don't see it as objectifying AT ALL...my response would be
"lmaoooo i don't care what u think :)"
How (if so) does being a young, female photographer play into your work?
To my advantage, being a young female makes me relatable towards who I'm shooting. Most my subjects, as you can easily see, are young females. If I were a model, I would without a fucking doubt feel more comfortable shooting with a girl my age rather than a creepy dude that's intentions are questionable.
Do you face sexism / ageism / misogyny bullshit in ur career or life?
*Advice for yung women going through similar bs?
maybe I do? I don't really know because I don't give a shit. Like i'm so sorry there are salty people out there hating on young female artists...that's really weird to me.
if i get h8 mail or idk just haters sliding into my DM i don't pay it ANYYYYY mind.
that's the only advice i can give you, try not to care. that'll hold you back so much. just do whatever the fuck you want to do.
You're obvi a social media queen. What's your stance on social media / / how has it boosted your career and influenced your style?
i don't know. one day i hate social media, then the next day I'll love it.
i hate that
1) people think they know someone because they follow them on insta/snapchat/tumblr
2) it creates some type of DUMB status ego...
mad clients go to my instagram and either automatically fuck with me or serrrrriously don't.
but its like don't fucking judge me off my instagram like go to my website b, go fuck with my WORK not my instagram !!
but then it's cool because it's connected me with people I would have nevvvvver been connected with and it's brought me mad opportunities.
@ then end of the day tho, i hate it more than i love it.
What does a perfect day of shooting look like to you?
perfect day of shooting - - - -
everyone's on time (including me lol)
the sun is beautifully covered by cute clouds
the weathers like 70 degrees
i have hella locations to pull up to in my rolls royce.
& yeah that's it
oh there's also a lot of food there. like so much food.
Have you ever had an awful shoot or instance that made you rethink being a photographer?
haha, yeah all the time actually. Every time a camera gets stolen from me, which sadly is SO often, it makes me reconsider being a photographer. I'm like damn is this some sort of sign? Is the universe snatching my camera from me to try & tell me something?
or i'll get really high late at night and go through my website and just laugh @ some of my work...like wtf was i thinking when I shot this..why didn't I shoot from a different angle...or use different light...
I hate doubting myself but idk sometimes I can't help it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Do you ever have moments where your creative juices aren't flowing? How do you deal w that?
never. there's never a moment where I'm not thinking creatively.
is that normal?
where ever I am, what's always running through my mind is "what if I were shooting here"
I've noticed that you don't have many self-portraits out there, is it just not ur thing?
i hate pictures of myself & just being in front of a camera
I'm pretty decent @ being behind one so I like to keep it @ that.
Fave film brand / / speed?
brand isn't a game changer for me, as long as the iso is 400, i can work with it.
Music ur feelin right now?
young thug, drake, bryson tiller, kehlani
Which photographers / / artists do you admire right now?
anyone that shoots film. 90% of the time i appreciate their work.
I shoot film too. Do you do any post production editing (scanning, editing, etc)?
go girl, thats hot.
i do what I need to do to make sure whatever i'm putting out into the world is as close to perfect as it can be.
sometime shit needs 0 retouching, other times it needs plenty.
A lot of people give me shit because i fuck with my photos...but they don't realize that most the time I shoot with 1-2 rolls of film. That leaves me with 48 final images...if somethings off in one photo, damn right I'm going to photoshop it.
Do you do your own processing/printing?
hellllll no shorty. processing color....miss me with that.
My angel girl in SoHo takes care of all my film needs for me. I feel bad right now because I can't remember her name.
How do you define success in your life?
feeling accomplished.
How do you define creativity?
having original ideas & bringing them to life.
From your insta, you always appear to be having fun and traveling to dope destinations... How do you balance leisure with ur workflow?
my job is fun as fuck. it's so fun that it looks like i'm not working lol. I'm so so so sosososososososo blessed to be living in my shoes, i can't say it enough.
Any other advice for young female photographers tryna make it in the industry?
don't give up.
shoot as often as you can.
dont worry about your following count, worry about your art.
& don't listen to anyone...peoples unasked for criticism don't mean shiiiiit.
perfect day of shooting - - - -
everyone's on time (including me lol)
the sun is beautifully covered by cute clouds
the weathers like 70 degrees
i have hella locations to pull up to in my rolls royce.
& yeah that's it
oh there's also a lot of food there. like so much food.
Have you ever had an awful shoot or instance that made you rethink being a photographer?
haha, yeah all the time actually. Every time a camera gets stolen from me, which sadly is SO often, it makes me reconsider being a photographer. I'm like damn is this some sort of sign? Is the universe snatching my camera from me to try & tell me something?
or i'll get really high late at night and go through my website and just laugh @ some of my work...like wtf was i thinking when I shot this..why didn't I shoot from a different angle...or use different light...
I hate doubting myself but idk sometimes I can't help it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Do you ever have moments where your creative juices aren't flowing? How do you deal w that?
never. there's never a moment where I'm not thinking creatively.
is that normal?
where ever I am, what's always running through my mind is "what if I were shooting here"
I've noticed that you don't have many self-portraits out there, is it just not ur thing?
i hate pictures of myself & just being in front of a camera
I'm pretty decent @ being behind one so I like to keep it @ that.
Fave film brand / / speed?
brand isn't a game changer for me, as long as the iso is 400, i can work with it.
Music ur feelin right now?
young thug, drake, bryson tiller, kehlani
Which photographers / / artists do you admire right now?
anyone that shoots film. 90% of the time i appreciate their work.
I shoot film too. Do you do any post production editing (scanning, editing, etc)?
go girl, thats hot.
i do what I need to do to make sure whatever i'm putting out into the world is as close to perfect as it can be.
sometime shit needs 0 retouching, other times it needs plenty.
A lot of people give me shit because i fuck with my photos...but they don't realize that most the time I shoot with 1-2 rolls of film. That leaves me with 48 final images...if somethings off in one photo, damn right I'm going to photoshop it.
Do you do your own processing/printing?
hellllll no shorty. processing color....miss me with that.
My angel girl in SoHo takes care of all my film needs for me. I feel bad right now because I can't remember her name.
How do you define success in your life?
feeling accomplished.
How do you define creativity?
having original ideas & bringing them to life.
From your insta, you always appear to be having fun and traveling to dope destinations... How do you balance leisure with ur workflow?
my job is fun as fuck. it's so fun that it looks like i'm not working lol. I'm so so so sosososososososo blessed to be living in my shoes, i can't say it enough.
Any other advice for young female photographers tryna make it in the industry?
don't give up.
shoot as often as you can.
dont worry about your following count, worry about your art.
& don't listen to anyone...peoples unasked for criticism don't mean shiiiiit.